Originally Posted by Learn2Live

SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use & Health defines alcohol dependence or abuse using criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The criteria includes symptoms such as withdrawal, tolerance, use in dangerous situations, trouble with the law, and interference in major obligations at work, school, or home during the past year.

Binge drinking is defined as drinking 5 or more drinks on the same occasion (at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other). Heavy drinking is defined as drinking 5 or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days.

Based on combined data from SAMHSA's 2004-2005 National Surveys on Drug Use & Health, the rate of past year alcohol dependence or abuse among persons aged 12 or older varied by level of alcohol use: 44.7% of past month heavy drinkers, 18.5% binge drinkers, 3.8% past month non-binge drinkers, and 1.3% of those who did not drink alcohol in the past month met the criteria for alcohol dependence or abuse in the past year.

Males had higher rates than females for all measures of drinking in the past month: any alcohol use (57.5% vs. 45%), binge drinking (30.8% vs. 15.1%), and heavy alcohol use (10.5% vs. 3.3%).

Males were twice as likely as females to have met the criteria for alcohol dependence or abuse in the past year (10.5% vs. 5.1%).

from: Alcohol Gender differences: Gender Differences in Alcohol Use and Alcohol Dependence or Abuse: 2004, & 2005; SAMHSA,Office of Applied Studies